The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers!

Yesterday brought in a solid $7.2M in online auction sales. Nothing earth-shattering, but a healthy mix of action across the platforms—and today’s leaderboard is packed, with a few fresh faces joining the regulars.

Inside: a 1928 Rolls-Royce that jumped nearly $200K in just three months, Kramer’s Benz selling for a very on-brand $24,444, and a quick look at Cars & Bids’ long-overdue move to add SMS alerts.

Oh, and a poll at the end—we want to know which auction alerts actually matter to you.

Let’s get into it.

MARKET LEADERBOARD

💰 The figures shared below don’t count any other sales such as car seats, memorabilia etc… All online auction sites are analyzed to put this leaderboard together.

I only include websites that have sold 5+ vehicles in the chart below.

YESTERDAY’S TOP 5 SALES

Want to dive deeper into any of these listings? Just click on the car to take you directly to the listing.

Sale(s) of the Day

The 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Riviera Town Car by Brewster isn’t just rare—it’s the kind of car people write books about. One of ten. Coachbuilt. Pebble Beach pedigree. French Riviera history. A car that looks like it should never leave a concours lawn.

And yet, it sold yesterday on BaT for $550,000.

Strong? Sure. But let’s not forget: it went for $357K just three months ago at Broad Arrow. And back in 2011, $687K at Gooding. Same car. Same coachwork. So what changed?

Not the restoration. Not the mileage. Just the context.

Fresh fuel. Better light. Right words. Right week. Right buyer in the room. This was a masterclass in timing, not transformation.

And that’s the real takeaway. With prewar cars, it’s not just about provenance or polish. It’s about understanding the moment—and knowing how to frame the story. This time, the stars aligned. The seller found the right lane, and the market responded.

The car didn’t change. The setting did. And that made all the difference.

There was no way I wasn’t going to feature Kramer’s Benz.

Michael Richards’ 2004 S500—yes, that Michael Richards—sold for $24,444, and the comments section turned into a Seinfeld reunion. Every gag you could think of was in there. “Serenity now,” “Assman,” “Jon Voight’s pencil,” “Junior Mints,” even someone hoping the car only parks nose-in. Peak BaT. Go and read em all, if you’re a Seinfeld fan it will bring a smile to your face.

The car itself, a well-kept W220 S-Class in Brilliant Silver, bought new by Richards at Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills. It’s done 76k miles, had a factory engine replacement at 7k, and comes with AMG monoblocks and a sweetener: a signed copy of his book. Richards even offered to hand over the keys in person. That’s a pretty good story to go with your car show brag.

And yes, he's moved on. Richards says he now drives a 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport—fully electric and weighing over 9,000 pounds. Kramer has entered his kilowatt era.

Potential Bargains

Cars & Bids just rolled out text alerts—and frankly, we’re surprised it took this long. BaT’s had this for a while. Still, it’s a welcome move. You can now get pinged when someone outbids you, replies to your comment, or when that ‘02 M3 you’ve been stalking is about to close.

For a platform built around urgency and FOMO, real-time alerts shouldn’t be optional. They should be table stakes.